The subject matter herein relates generally to a system and method for providing investment products comprising a plurality of equity and index annuity portfolio allocations in a single insurance and securities investment product. Further, the subject matter also relates generally to a computer system and a web application wherein an investor selects the desired amount of investment principal to be guaranteed and a corresponding allocation of equity and equity-indexed annuity investments. Additionally the present disclosure relates to a system and method of selecting the amount of guaranteed investment principal with a corresponding equity and equity-index annuity portfolio allocation using a web application and computer system embodied therein. The present disclosure relates more specifically to investment principal guaranteed investment products and a method for determining specific amounts of investment principal guarantee with respect to a selected desired rate of return. More particularly, the present disclosure provides for an investment system with greater than none and about 100% of all investment principal guaranteed.
Annuities are well-known in the financial services industry. They are characterized by an accumulation phase and a payout phase. During the accumulation phase, the annuity owner makes one or more payments into the annuity account and the annuity account value fluctuates based on the performance of one or more predetermined investment selections. These investment selections may be made with money pooled from a plurality of said annuity accounts and may contain fixed return or variable rate investment products. During the payout phase, the annuity account value is returned to the annuity owner, often as part of an income plan wherein the annuity owner will receive a specified number of income payments for a predetermined time period based on the value of the annuity account.
Income plans are available in many forms. For example, the distributions may be made for a predetermined definite period, as in an annuity certain, or for as long as the person lives, as in a life annuity. Payments under a life annuity may terminate on the policy holder's death, as in a straight life annuity, or may continue to a beneficiary for a specified period after the policy holder's death, as in a life annuity with period certain. Alternatively, a life annuity may be based on two lives jointly, as in a joint and last-survivor annuity in which payments continue to be made to the survivor for the remainder of his or her life, or may provide a beneficiary a lump sum payment upon the death of the policy holder. The payments under an annuity may be set to begin on the purchase date of the annuity, as in an immediate annuity, or after a specified amount of time, as in a deferred annuity.
Annuities are typically conservative investments providing a low risk return on investment. By coupling annuities with equity or stock based investments, the total return to an investor may be more uncertain or erratic, depending on the allocation. However, one solution is an equity-indexed annuity which is also well known in the art. An equity-indexed annuity is linked to an index fund such as the Standard and Poors 500 Index (S&P 500). When the index fund increases in value, so does the value in the annuity account depending on the interest earnings of the annuity account. If the index fund drops in value, the principal amount in the annuity account is protected to a guaranteed minimum by a contract with an annuity provider such as a life insurance company. Loss of some principal is possible if the annuity is surrendered before the end of the term of the contract. One disadvantage of an annuity as described here is that there is no ability for the investor to determine the amount of the guaranteed principal. Instead, the investor selects a desired rate of return or the degree of risk. As a result, the amount of guaranteed principal is dependant on the selections therein.
Because the interest rate of a fixed annuity is locked for the guarantee period, investors feel disadvantaged if the prevailing interest rates available in alternative investment products increase during the guarantee period while the fixed annuity is locked in at a lower rate. For this reason, fixed annuities are not a desirable investment option for many consumers of investment products; the consumers fear being locked into an interest rate that may, during the guarantee period, be lower than prevailing interest rates available in other investment products. Variable annuities obviate this problem because the variable annuity is not locked into a guaranteed interest rate. Through a variable annuity, the investor can participate in bond, equity, and money markets and thereby reap the benefits of upturns in those markets. On the other hand, such investments involve more risk and volatility than guaranteed fixed annuities, and, in addition to reaping the benefits of upturns, the investor must suffer through downturns in the markets underlying the variable account as well. Accordingly, the variable annuities may not be desirable for some investors, especially investors operating under relatively short investment time horizons.
Therefore, a need exists for an investment system and method that provides a guaranteed principal amount, as in a fixed annuity, while offering the possibility of higher returns as found in a broad equity index fund.